Ford Capri, late 1980s - early '90s.

It needn't cost a fortune to feel the wind in your hair, writes David Morley.

10 October 2010David Morley

Ford Capri, late 1980s - early '90s.

Capri a passage to cheap thrills

Looking for a cheap runabout to make the most of those long summer nights? A convertible is the way to go, but all too often the idea of "cheap fun" gets lost in translation when it comes to drop-tops. Either that or the vehicle in question is likely to be more trouble than it's worth.

Many of us would dearly love to have a Mazda MX-5 in the garage, but the car's popularity and reputation for quality and reliability have conspired to ensure that retained values are relatively high (for what it is).

On the more-trouble-then-they're-worth side of the ledger are cars such as MGBs and Austin-Healey Sprites. Anything old and British (the royal family included) requires more maintenance than might be otherwise desirable. They are also vastly more expensive than anything with their particular skill sets has any right to be.

The answer might just be an Australian car produced in the late 1980s and early '90s.

Though no pinnacle of design flair or masterful execution, Capris are now dirt cheap. They would want to be, with their reputation for leaking, falling to bits and just being generally rubbish.

But they are good fun to drive, and if you can unearth a cared-for, de-bugged, late-model example, you might even find it'll hang together and be relatively hassle-free.

The Capri was the product of an Australian car industry labouring under the shadow of industry minister John Button's car plan that aimed to reduce the number of local car-makers by at least one. It spawned some truly awful badge-engineered products as manufacturers jumped into bed with each other to share models and boost production runs.

The car plan could also mean exporting cars as a way of surviving, and into that mindset was born the Capri convertible.

The plot was to sell the cars locally and through Mercury (a division of Ford) dealerships in the US, where convertibles have usually done well. But because of the car's problems and some marketing issues in the US, the Capri was a lame duck.

The Capri was beset by quality control gremlins that immediately took the shine off the thing. The biggest problem centred on the manually operated convertible roof, which leaked like a Buckingham Palace butler. Ford replaced leaking lids under warranty but the replacements seemed no better and more than one Capri was hiding under its fourth or fifth top by the time the original owner screamed "enough!" and traded the thing in.

Interiors were also a bit fly-apart, with poor plastics and dashboard graphics that were aimed at US buyers but looked ordinary here. Bumpers warped and cracked (or fell off) and Ford's paint technology of the time meant that many Capris faded prematurely, particularly reds and darker colours.

But being based on proved Ford Laser mechanicals, the Capri was fairly undemanding to work on and reasonably reliable to begin with.

The basic package used a 1.6-litre engine with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox, and essentially the Laser's front-wheel-drive platform and suspension. It drove much like a Laser too, with moderate performance and typical front-drive handling.

There was also a turbo version of the same engine, which was quite quick in a straight line with 100 kW of power and torque to match. The trick was keeping it in a straight line because steering tug from the over-powered front wheels could keep you busy.

The plum buys then (and now) were the Tickford-modified Capris which went by the name of Clubsprint and were available in turbo and non-turbo forms. They had nicer styling and improved interiors with great seats and nice touches such as sports steering wheels.

Unless you find a Clubsprint that has been pampered and not driven hard, any Capri is likely to feel tired with loose suspension, sloppy driveshafts and the odd puff of smoke from the engine. But find that "good one" and you can experience the joy of roofless motoring on a tight budget.

What to pay

Some owners are still asking up to $10,000 for nice, clean cars, but about $7000 puts you among plenty of candidates. Even if they aren't perfect, they make a $20,000 MGB look overpriced. Which, of course, they are.

The competition

Mazda's MX-5 is the car that did massive damage to the Capri's reputation, simply by being so darn good at the business of being a convertible. But they're expensive. Holden did a roofless Barina (HSV did the slicing and welding locally) but it's also more expensive and nowhere near as good as a much older MX-5. Mazda's forgotten convertible, the RX-7, is a classy car if you can find one.

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